England dance to Ajinkya Rahane's tune as India lock series
Ajinkya Rahane hits a career-best 91 as India chase down 299 in the last over to wrap up the series with two ODIs to go.
Ajinkya Rahane had given us a tantalising glimpse of what he could achieve in international cricket. In England, he did display promise in abundance. How far could he go was the obvious question. The signs were not that encouraging in the ongoing series, for he wasn’t cashing in on starts.
His stylish 91 here on Thursday, which helped India seal the series against England, could well be a defining moment in his career. Another failure would have allowed critics to pounce.
His century stand with Gautam Gambhir (54) laid the platform for India’s six-wicket over the visitors who still haven’t cracked the code on how to do win here.
With five wickets in the bank and 55 runs to win in nine overs, MS Singh Dhoni (35*) and Ravindra Jadeja (26*) played smartly to guide India home. Dhoni cracked two back-to-back boundaries to help India seal the deal.
Chasing 299, India were off to a fine start. Parthiv Patel and Rahane put together a 70-run opening stand.
Parthiv Patel was at his attacking best. He cut and drove at will even as Rahane settled down after the anxious moments initially. It was Tim Bresnan who put the brakes by scalping Patel for 38.
Rahane, meanwhile, steadied the innings, not losing any scoring opportunity. He may have hit only six boundaries but he was never short on stamina. Quick on his toes, he was alert to every possibility of quick singles and tested the fielders by running the twos.
Rahane and Gambhir had a 111-run stand for the second wicket, before Steven Finn sent Gambhir back for 58.
Rahane, who looked set for his maiden international century, lost his touch slightly in the batting powerplay. He struggled to find the gaps and in the end gave a simple catch to mid-off.
Suresh Raina perished for a duck, while Virat Kohli, who played a 35-run cameo, was snared by Graeme Swann. It was left to Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja to steer India home.
Earlier, Jonathan Trott (98*), Kevin Pietersen (64) and all-rounder Samit Patel (70*) guided England to 298 for four. Skipper Alastair Cook was dismissed by R Vinay Kumar cheaply. Using the conditions and the new ball well, Vinay Kumar and Praveen Kumar did not let England openers score freely. Cook succumbed to pressure and was trapped leg-before.
Opener Craig Kieswetter threatened to take the momentum away from India. He kept the scoreboard ticking with regular boundaries and the odd six in between. Dhoni’s strategy to bring in part-timer Virat Kohli paid off as Kieswetter failed to read an inswinger and got bowled.
Trott, meanwhile, stayed calm and played his own game. He let the aggressive Kevin Pietersen take charge. Pietersen kept the scoreboard running with his aggressive batting. Pietersen was the first to reach his half-century off the two. When it looked that Pietersen would take his team to a huge score, Jadeja came to the fore to dismiss him for 64.
Later, Trott got together with Patel for the final assault. Trott, in the process, reached his 15th ODI half-century.
The duo stitched together unbeaten 103-run partnership guiding England to their best score in the series. But even that wasn’t enough.